January 2016 Meeting
Seastones–Adding Ovals to Your Copperplate with Maria Helena Hoksch
Saturday, January 9, 2016
9:30 AM to 5 PM
Carlo Ditta Meeting Room
1445 MacArthur Ave., Harvey
Many great artists borrow inspiration from nature. Platt Spencer, the father of American penmanship, was no exception. While visiting Lake Erie, he pocketed numerous small stones which became for him a guide to good form.
Over many years of intense study local calligrapher, Maria Helena Hoksch, has developed her own way of using ovals to enhance her copperplate lettering. She calls this style Seastones.
Please join us as Maria Helena guides us in exploring this lovely style, turning a lettered page into a beach covered with polished pebbles. We will then apply the Seastone script to addressing envelopes.
Lined guide sheets will be provided. Prior knowledge of any pointed pen script is useful but not essential. For those who don’t feel comfortable with pointed pen, you may work with fine tip markers or sharp pencils.
You may participate in a morning session or stay for a full day of more in depth study.
Workshop Fee
Members–$25 for 1/2 day, $40 for full day
Non members–$35 for 1/2 day, $55 for full day
To register please print out the registration form below & mail in by January 5, 2016.
Supply List
Hard and soft pencils
Sharpener
Ruler
Eraser
Lighter or Matches
Fine Black Marker (Sharpie Pen)
Oblique Penholder
Hunt 101 nibs, at least two
Palace Moon Palace Sumi Ink
Winsor Newton Ivory Black Gouache
Mixing Brush
Water Dropper
Water container for cleaning/rinsing the nib
Soft Paper Towel
Little Inkwell or Container, for dipping your pen
Canson Pro Layout Marker Pad, 9″x12″
Drafting Dots or removable tape
Optional Supplies
Blotting paper for cushion, slant board,Ott light & long extension cord, your favorite pointed nibs, Cranford black paper (smooth, comes in pad), Dr. Martin’s Bleedproof white, another dipping dish, extra envelopes (smooth & thinner), protractor & old toothbrush
You can obtain supplies from David Art or on line through Paper & Ink Arts or John Neal.
Maria Helena Hoksch registration form
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NOLAA meeting – November 14, 2015
Blackletter Workshop
*Please Note: New Location We will meet at the North Kenner branch of the library at 630 West Esplanade at 9:30am
November’s meeting will be a hands-on study of blackletter led by Vince Mitchell and Yvette Rutledge of Mystic Blue Signs. We will begin by making the basic forms of this constructed alphabet, then we will follow the video of Reggie Ezell’s version of the same alphabet, step by step. We will use black ink as well as mixing colored gouache and watercolor for use in pens.
Materials: For lettering, you should bring
*a broad-edged pen of of your choice:
a parallel pen size 3.8mm or
a dip pen like Speedball C1 or Brause #5
(with bottled ink like Higgins Eternal) or
a chisel-edge marker 3.5 mm
*pencil, eraser, ruler, water jar, paper
towels
*practice paper–something heavy enough
that the ink doesn’t bleed through
For working with colored gouache or watercolor, please bring
*a mixing tray, a small brush, a tube of
watercolor or gouache paint.
You will need to use a dip pen with this
paint
**Knowing the fundamentals of blackletter will be helpful at our spring 2016 workshop with Irish calligrapher Denis Brown, who will spend two of the four days he is in town showing us a cursive form of blackletter. (See the previous post “Save the Dates” below for more info)
Note: In 2017, Reggie Ezell will be teaching a year-long workshop for NOLAA where we meet for a weekend every two months. The workshop will cover many advanced techniques. Our November meeting is a good opportunity to preview his teaching style.
Read More2015 October Meeting
Exploring Handwriting
Saturday, October 10
9:30 AM
at Mystic Blue Signs
2212 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA
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You should bring:
The idea is to have a range of tools available so we can find the one that gives you the most self-expression for your particular handwriting. We will examine the various characteristics of handwriting like weight, slant, etc, to see how you can choose to affect the way your penmanship looks. |
2015 September Meeting
Back to Basics
September 12th at 9:30am at the East Jefferson Regional Library
(4747 W. Napolean Ave, Metairie)
We hope you will join us at our first meeting, Back to Basics, on Saturday, September 12 at 9:30am at the East Jefferson Regional Library.
NOLAA president Debbie Fleming will review Italic calligraphy and show a DVD on italic from calligrapher teacher Reggie Ezell. Beginners, here’s your chance for a lesson in a basic calligraphy style in an informal setting. We will also explore different inks and papers. *There will be a small materials fee for non-members.
You should bring: (1) Pencil, ruler, eraser (2) Paper for practicing and taking notes (3) Chisel-edge marker or Metal Nib with pen holder: Speedball type C-1 or C-2 chisel edge and a bottle of ink or “Parallel” pen that uses cartridges.
*Please register on the website (members and non-members) if you plan to attend. If you have questions, you are welcome to call Debbie Fleming at (504)401-0144.
At 9:30 there will be a short business meeting, where we will provide details of our October calligraphy exhibit, which is being hosted by Mystic Blue Signs.
NOLAA Calligraphy Exhibit — Oct3-Nov 6
Art for Art’s Sake on Magazine Street is one of the biggest art events of the New Orleans scene. People from all over the world will see the exhibit. Please come to the opening reception Saturday, October 3 from 6 to 9pm, and bring your friends. There will be live music and refreshments.
The NOLAA show is unjuried, and we encourage calligraphers of all levels of experience to make a piece for the show. We hope all our members will participate.
Read More2015 May Meeting
New Orleans Lettering Arts Association meeting—Saturday May 9
Interlocking Monogram Design
East Jefferson Regional Library
4747 West Napolean Avenue, Metairie
10am — 1 pm
Please register on the website ( members and non-members) if you will attend the meeting so we can plan for the number of participants. {Fill in Meeting Registration form on www.neworleanscalligraphy.org }
NOLAA’s final meeting of the year will be a hands-on mini-workshop in designing interlocking script monograms. Whether drawing two- or three- letter combinations, vertical or slanted script, the principles by which we interlock initials into monograms remain the same.
Yvette Rutledge of Mystic Blue Signs studied monogram design while training as a hand engraver and has designed monograms professionally for many years.
She and her husband Vince Mitchel will demonstrate the principles for joining copperplate and vertical scripts, along with methods for variation and finishing.
Participants can use tracing paper to reposition sample letters provided by Eve and Vince, or use flexible pointed nibs to draw their own. Transfer paper will be provided for carboning the design onto good paper before final inking.
Materials:
several sheets of tracing paper
pencils, eraser, ruler, scissors
smooth drawing or writing paper
fine point black marker like Pigma Micron #005, #1 or #2
optional:
flexible pen nib and holder for making script letters
your favorite black ink
small water bottle
paper towels
All designs copyright Mystic Blue Signs
Read More2015 April Meeting
Fun, Fabulous Filigree
The April Meeting will be held at the Jefferson Parish East Bank Regional Library on April 11, 2015.
Meeting time is 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.
Please join us a Maria-Helena Hoksch demonstrates using filigree to add decoration to your letters. We will explore filigree in Medieval manuscripts and in the American Golden Age of Penmanship. Maria-Helena will show how filigree can be adapted to contemporary lettering and share some examples of her work. She will also bring a set of Lombardic capitals that can be decorated or you can draw your own. Be ready to play, let your creativity flow and have fun with filigree!
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